Rucksack, SAS/Para (Commercial)

History

With only Special Air Service (SAS), Special Boat Squadron (SBS), Parachute Regiment, Pathfinder Units, and other specialist elements of the British military being officially issued the SAS/Para Bergen, several commercial manufacturers eventually obtained examples of the pack and produced their own versions. These commercial copies allowed soldiers allowed standard infantry units and civilian buyers to purchase and use a Bergen identical in style and function to the issued model.

Description

The Rucksack is fabricated from olive-green Cordura nylon and fitted with plastic D-rings and ladder-lock buckles throughout. The Rucksack features a flat nylon lid with short sides, closing securely over the main compartment with two long 25-mm webbing straps and ladder-lock buckles. The top of the lid includes four 25-mm webbing loops for attaching external items, while the underside houses a full-length flat ‘map’ pocket closed along the front edge with a nylon zip. Between the two lid straps is a horizontal 25-mm webbing entrenching-tool strap for additional carriage flexibility.

For the main compartment, the mouth is drawn closed with a tall nylon snow collar fitted with aluminium grommets and an olive-green draw-cord adjusted by a plastic fix-lock. Set against the back wall inside is a large, full-length open-top bellows pocket for storing flat or long items. The side walls are reinforced internally with additional nylon cloth, supporting the upper webbing structure.

The front pouch, a large and prominently shaped external pocket, closes with two 25-mm webbing straps and ladder-lock buckles, and its mouth is secured with a nylon zip for additional protection. Above and below this pouch are 25-mm webbing loops that guide the lid straps and keep the load aligned. The front of the pouch also carries a secondary 25-mm entrenching-tool strap, while the sides of the pouch feature stacked vertical webbing loops for attaching smaller items.

Running down each side are large collapsible pouches with shaped lids that extend over the sides and front when closed. These side pouches are secured with 25-mm webbing straps and nylon ladder-lock buckles, and are sewn along the sides to create a tunnel between the pouch and the rucksack body for storing long objects. Each pouch includes three sets of snap-domes down the sides, enabling them to be clipped together centrally, collapsing the bodies flat when not required.

Moving to the back, the Rucksack features an upper nylon envelope panel constructed from a reinforced semi-circular webbing band and matching fabric body. At the top of this envelope are two small holes designed for the GS Pack Frame’s shoulder-strap loops to pass through when the frame is fitted. The lower half of the envelope carries a white cotton ID panel sewn directly to the back face. Below this are two angled closed-cell foam pads housed in nylon pockets, with a larger rectangular pad beneath them, all providing comfort whether the Rucksack is used with or without the frame. The lower corners include reinforced nylon D-rings for anchoring the shoulder-strap adjustment straps and securing the pack to the GS Frame with short nylon straps or para cord.

The Rucksack is designed to use the GS Pack Frame and its associated shoulder straps, but it can also be carried without the frame when required. Without the frame, the shoulder straps are first attached to the bottom nylon D-rings, and the upper ends are then clipped to the D-rings at the top of the Rucksack.

Examples

Example One

Example one was produced by HM Supplies In the early 1990s